With so much talk recently about John Oswald's writing about music, how about the music itself. Here is the defining Plunderphonics track. A thorough and multi-faceted recombination of Michael Jackson.
[This is on the compilation Plunderphonics 69/96. The whole thing is incredible—exhausting, but incredible.]
Showing posts with label john oswald. Show all posts
Showing posts with label john oswald. Show all posts
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Blue Suedes
Oswald's "Plunderphonics" essay is full of all sorts of interesting details that I've been chasing all week.
Here's a piece by James Tenney from 1961 called "Collage #1," a deconstruction of Elvis' "Blue Suede Shoes." Oswald uses it as a defense of the cut and paste—in this case, literally, as Tenney worked with tape and razors—invoking Milton, Stravinsky and the moral and legal high road:
"Piracy or plagiarism of a work occur, according to Milton, 'if it is not bettered by the borrower'. Stravinsky added the right of possession to Milton's distinction when he said, 'A good composer does not imitate; he steals.' ...My observation is that Tenney's "Blue Suede" fulfills Milton's stipulation; is supported by Stravinsky's aphorism; and does not contravene Elvis' morality or Section 17(2)(b) of the Copyright Act."
Here's a piece by James Tenney from 1961 called "Collage #1," a deconstruction of Elvis' "Blue Suede Shoes." Oswald uses it as a defense of the cut and paste—in this case, literally, as Tenney worked with tape and razors—invoking Milton, Stravinsky and the moral and legal high road:
"Piracy or plagiarism of a work occur, according to Milton, 'if it is not bettered by the borrower'. Stravinsky added the right of possession to Milton's distinction when he said, 'A good composer does not imitate; he steals.' ...My observation is that Tenney's "Blue Suede" fulfills Milton's stipulation; is supported by Stravinsky's aphorism; and does not contravene Elvis' morality or Section 17(2)(b) of the Copyright Act."
Monday, February 8, 2010
Plunderphonics
"Musical instruments produce sounds. Composers produce music. Musical instruments reproduce music. Tape recorders, radios, disc players, etc., reproduce sound. A device such as a wind-up music box produces sound and reproduces music. A phonograph in the hands of a hip hop/scratch artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with a phonographic needle as a plectrum, produces sounds which are unique and not reproduced—the record player becomes a musical instrument. A sampler, in essence a recording, transforming instrument, is simultaneously a documenting device and a creative device, in effect reducing a distinction manifested by copyright." —John Oswald, "Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative"
Today's required reading.
Today's required reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)